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New director for ANU Research School of Biology

5 September 2014

The University has appointed Professor Allen Rodrigo as Director of the Research School of Biology (RSB) in the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment. He will take up the role in July next year.

Professor Rodrigo is a Professor of Biology at Duke University in the United States and Director of the federally-funded US National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, a collaborative venture between Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the North Carolina State University.

Professor Rodrigo was awarded a PhD and later a DSc from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Before joining Duke University, he was the founding Director of the Bioinformatics Institute at the University of Auckland.

ANU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Young AO, said Professor Rodrigo is a distinguished scientist who would add to the research strengths of the University and RSB.

“Allen’s extensive leadership experience, and the breadth of his expertise, make him ideally suited to leading the School and I look forward to welcoming him here,” Professor Young said.

Professor Rodrigo said he was looking forward to working with the world-class scientists at the RSB.

“The School has a team of scientists whose work is recognised internationally and is of the highest calibre,” Professor Rodrigo said.

“Biology is the science of the 21st century, and the Research School of Biology is leading the way in a range of fields including plant genomics, biomedical science, and biodiversity research. This serves our students well, because in the Research School of Biology, research translates into teaching.”

Dean of the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, Professor Kiaran Kirk, highlighted Professor Rodrigo’s outstanding record in research and research leadership, particularly in the area of bioinformatics.

“Our success in the biological and biomedical sciences in the coming decades will be critically dependent on our ability to deal with the vast data sets that are now being generated by the new ‘genomic’ technologies,” Professor Kirk said.

“Allen’s expertise in this area will be crucial in positioning the ANU for the future.”